Canopius in £203m bid for Omega

Canopius threw a spanner in the works of the Flagstone Re founder Mark Byrne's plans to buy part of Omega Insurance yesterday by making a bid valuing the Lloyd's of London firm at £203m.

Privately owned Canopius said it had approached Omega with an indicative proposal to buy all of the company's shares for 83p apiece.

The day before, Mr Byrne's Haverford vehicle announced an agreement over a deal to buy 25 per cent of the company for the same price.

The agreement also called for Mr Byrne's appointment as Omega's executive chairman once a quarter of the company had been bought.